I was rather taken aback by the idea that I should wait for a Kawasaki technician to go over the bike and explain how it works. With most bikes, I simply have a quick look over and away I go. What could be so special that I’d need some technical guidance? It wasn’t long before Jean Philippe, the Kawasaki tech, had my head swirling with modes, switches, readouts and what happens if you hold “that” button down for more than two seconds. After thirty minutes of very good tutelage, my head was swimming with things that all made sense a few hundred clicks down the road.
They say that Italian design is the ultimate in style. Obviously, they never took a close look at the Concours 14 ABS. It is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and I chose to nickname her “Connie.” Dressed in Candy Neptune Blue and Flat Black, her full fairing and panniers seemed to flow seamlessly. She looked slippery, like she should be getting a speeding ticket whilst parked. If I could call her “look” anything, it would be high-end Euro, and as it turns out, complete with a very Euro feel. Right off the hop I liked her. I liked her a lot. The cushy seat, handlebar and peg design holds you upright with a slight forward stance, but still in a relaxed fashion, kind of a sweet-spot position for me, and I’m just a shade over six feet. You can feel the sportbike heritage, but it’s much more refined.
After my electronic education, I donned my riding gear and finally threw my leg over the bike, pushed the key down, turned it to start and touched the go button. A very muted purr instantly erupted. Score one for me, she’s running. With all the preceding tech-talk, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was riding a very powerful laptop or a very powerful motorcycle. Fortunately, it turned out to be the latter, but with a whole lot of ones and zeros zipping around within her beautiful bodywork.
I don’t normally dwell too much on electronics, but with the Concours, I really do need to make some mention. First off, the bike doesn’t have a key – well it does, but not in the conventional sense. It has a fob with an official title of KIPASS (Kawasaki Intelligent Proximity Activation Start System). You put the fob in your riding coat, and when you get within a few feet of the bike it starts to get all perky. At that point, all you need do is turn the ignition switch to run, hit the start button and take a quick spin to Vancouver, or Newfoundland, to pick up some milk.
The Concours 14 ABS also comes with a wallet-size, credit-card chip holder in case the fob goes missing. Simply holding the card up to the key antenna will activate the bike’s electronics, just as the fob does, and allows you to operate the bike as normal. Extra cards can be ordered with the bike or they can be programmed at any dealership. Another cool twist is that if you are a multi-Kawasaki household, you can order cards that activate more than one bike.
Once the electronics are activated, you can find out just about everything about the bike aside from its mood – I never did find that button, but I’m sure it’s there somewhere. The digital readout is nestled in the cockpit and offers large, easy-to-read information, all accessible with a nifty trigger switch on the left switchgear that toggles you through various screens like L/100 km average, L/100 km current, ambient temperature, tire pressure, gear selection, windshield position and fuel economy “sweet spot” icon. I’m probably missing a few, and I’m quite sure that you could find a good recipe for Peking duck if you knew which buttons to push and for how long.
Much of the information is handy, especially if you find yourself on a boring road and have the insatiable urge to know exactly what your front tire pressure is, and this actually brings up a good point. On my return trip I managed to pick up four nails from an air-nailer strip. Three nails went in on a shallow angle, but one hit home and pierced the tire. I went directly to the tire-pressure display and kept an eye on my rear tire pressure. If anyone is interested, the tire lost about two pounds in 20 minutes. That may sound like a ho-hum bit of information, but I can tell you from experience that on a long haul, that information would be very important, if not critical.
Standard on the Concours 14 ABS is KTRC, short for Kawasaki Traction Control. Simply put, it stops you from adding power when rear wheel slip is detected. This could be a real lifesaver on wet roads or if you manage to give it just a tad too much throttle exiting a corner. During my test week I didn’t experience any rain, so I can’t say yea or nay on its performance on wet pavement, but where I did notice it was on my steep gravel driveway – it climbs at an angle that would make a nanny goat nervous. When you climb it, you can’t help but spin the rear wheel just a tad. When I felt the KTRC kick in on one trip up, I immediately rolled on full throttle. The engine revs held steady at about 1500 and wouldn’t go any higher regardless how far the throttle was open. If you feel the KTRC is too imposing, you can switch this function off by flicking a switch on the left switchgear. When engaged, a KTRC icon appears on the digital readout informing the rider to be careful with the throttle hand.
Rather than turn this test report into an epic novel just on Connie’s electronics, a full description of the bike and all its electronic functions can be found at www.kawasaki.ca.
The Connie is powered by a silky smooth 1352 cc, liquid-cooled, in-line, four-cylinder DOHC engine with variable valve timing on its 16 valves. The powerplant, derived from the ZX-14 is claimed to produce 154 hp at 8800 rpm and deliver 102.5 ft-lb of torque at 6200 rpm. The super-quiet exhaust incorporates a catalytic converter that meets stringent Euro III emission regulations. With a strong, flat power band from idle to its 10,500 rpm redline, the Concours’s lean, clean, quiet and very powerful – just the way I like it.
It was a struggle to get out of Toronto and onto some open roads, but it gave me the opportunity to see how the big sport-touring bike handled stop and go traffic. Looking at the massive rad tucked into the lower front fairing and the cooling exhaust louvres, I felt that heat dissipation would be well handled, and I wasn’t disappointed. The cooling fans turned on regularily but I didn’t feel any heat transfer to my legs. The day was already at 28 degrees with high humidity, who needs to be cooked by your engine, when the sun is already baking you? Once the traffic broke up and the wide-open road presented itself, we both gave a cool sigh of relief and I rolled on some power.
Slow turns were a breeze, and although lock-to-lock steering was narrow, I could still pull an easy, slow U-turn well within a regular two lane road. Balance was excellent and I found myself able to stop with my feet still on the pegs.
Connie comes with an electronically adjustable windshield that has a liberal range and is also 70 mm (2.75 in.) taller than the ’09 version. The net effect of the windshield, which is controlled from the left-hand switchgear, is to allow a position to be picked that eliminates any nasty head buffeting. Added to rider comfort are relief ducts inside the fairing that reduce negative air pressure behind the windshield. That’s a nice touch for those long-haul days.
The rear suspension with its bottom-link, Uni-Trac, gas-charged shock, in combination with the Tetra-Lever shaft drive system, allows easy preload and damping adjustment by way of an adjuster knob found just below the rider’s sitting position on the left-hand side. The front setting on the inverted 43 mm fork is a bit more complicated, but can be dialed in to suit various road conditions. With 113 mm (4.4 in.) of front-wheel travel and 136 mm (5.3 in.) of rear-wheel travel, the suspension can handle just about any road variance out there.
Power is phenomenal; first gear will have you touching performance award numbers on any major highway, and you’ve still got five cogs to go. Third gear is especially fun if you’re prone to short bursts of speed that will leave your eyeballs glued to the back of your skull, which brings up a very valid question: why don’t we have an Autobahn? Touring amongst the insanity of a busy multi-lane highway is best done by toggling between fourth and sixth gear, as that’s when the little “econo” icon comes on and tells you that you’re getting the biggest bang for your gas-buck. However, with a flick of a switch, you can step things up a bit and electronically re-map the fuel intake system into sport mode, which drops the word economy and provides some wicked grins.
If you go for the sport-mapping mode and like to twist the throttle, you’ll post between the 6 and 7 L/100 km marks for steady riding, more if doing repeated bursts of speed. Your numbers will improve to the mid 5 L/100 km with conservative riding. With a healthy 22 litres onboard and riding conservatively, you should post approximately 400 kilometres before the low-fuel icon fills your digital readout screen. I filled within six kilometres of the low-fuel icon appearing and was able to squeeze 17 litres in the tank, leaving somewhere around five litres in reserve. That should allow you lots of time to find a station that serves up super-unleaded gasoline.
Once off the straight and boring, life becomes downright exciting when the twisties arrive. The aluminum monocoque frame geometry on the Connie is very well thought out. Between the rider’s position and the bar feel, it literally drew me into the corners – I felt my butt sliding over and my knee dropping out just a tad.
The minute you roll into tight corners or long sweepers, the sportbike heritage leaps out and you can’t help but pick your line, look way ahead, lean in and feel the suspension compress. With a front 120/70ZR-17 and a rear 190/50ZR-17 Bridgestone tire combination on hot pavement, well, you get the picture.
The engine sounds like a turbine and it’s a little scary, simply because you have so much power available. You need to be very disciplined with your right hand. I wanted to find a track, unlock the easily removable panniers and let loose with a few laps.
Kawasaki’s K-ACT (Kawasaki Advanced Coactive-braking Technology) ABS offers the rider a choice of two modes. The brakes are interlocked and electronics will supply the correct wheel with the proper braking pressure depending on how you have the system prioritized. In the sportier mode, the rider will feel more response from the input on either front or rear braking – in other words, it will feel more like a standard braking system that will allow for better rider feedback. In normal mode, brake integration will offer the maximum stopping power with the K-ACT system. I found myself getting a tad lazy with the brakes and using only the front brake when I would normally be using both. It offers a different feel that’s easy to get used to, and I found myself wishing for a good rainstorm so I could explore the whole K-ACT setup a little more closely.
The brake light uses high-intensity LEDs that are nothing short of brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that following the bike I could see that the LEDs have a tendency to wash out the signal lights. Either boosting the turn signal wattage or spacing the signals farther apart may be a prudent idea.
I know that electronics are much better than in years gone by, but sometimes I wonder if we’re starting to go overboard with various modes and selections just because we can. I appreciated them, as they make a possible brain fart at precisely the wrong moment more survivable, and more than likely, not even noticeable. It can make a good rider better and a poor rider look good, but I’m a bit of a purist and gear-head at heart, and some of today’s machines simply remove that whole segment of the riding experience. Perhaps that’s a good topic to argue during a beer-and-wing night.
On the pro side, if you are into a relaxed Euro stance and want a machine that offers coast-to-coast comfort, the Concourse 14 ABS should be on your short list. The electronic features offer choice and safety that is yours to control. Lighting is superb with double adjustments on the massive dual-headlight assemblies. The seat offers you lots of wiggle room, so you don’t feel confined at hour five during a long haul. Mirrors are absolutely vibration-free and mounted well within your peripheral vision. Throttle weight is light, and both hydraulic clutch and front brakes offer an easy pull with well-designed levers. Cornering, braking and acceleration is simply phenomenal, and this bike could easily sport an “Iron Butt” license-plate holder.
The only complaint I received was that the passenger foot pegs could be a little bigger, and due to the massive torque, either a backrest or a top trunk would offer the passenger more confidence and comfort.
With the $20,199 price tag and the Kawasaki 36-month limited warranty, plus the “Good Times” protection plan, the Concours 14 ABS is in a very competitive position within the Canadian market.
